The Thrifty Shopper team is proud to be Green!

Our Thrifty Shopper stores provide second-hand clothing at discounted prices as well as used household linens, furniture and other items. But it's not just these gently used goods that find a second life.

True or False: We can use that lone sock, the shoe without a match, the shirt with a rip or stain. TRUE! We recycle the donations that cannot be sold in our stores in other ways, such as selling tattered clothing as rags. We make sure nearly every item donated to and received is used to generate revenue. This in turn helps to fund our programs, which provide services to those who are hungry and homeless in our communities.

Bottom line: We embrace a social responsibility to our environment and recycle products, including salvage items, at every level to generate revenue to help those in need within our communities, all while making our home a "greener" and cleaner place to live!

Use your donations to receive last-minute tax write offs A secret stash of unwatched DVDs hides within the entertainment center. CDs with more nostalgic value than listening pleasure collect dust on your media rack, thanks to the digital era. Then there are the games you have mastered and are...

Recently I’ve been making small changes to improve sustainability around the house, which led me to researching the benefits of cloth napkins instead of paper ones. When I found out that using cloth napkins at home was overall a more sustainable choice, I set out to find enough to...

In this Going Green segment that aired on Time Warner Cable, Terry Ettinger looks at how the Rescue Mission makes great use of used textiles, like clothes, bed sheets and towels. In fact, 95 percent of used textiles can be reused. Donations are brought to the Rescue Mission Warehouse...

The countdown is on. Parents, you know what we’re talking about … less than two weeks before winter break starts. How are you going to keep the kids busy?? While we can’t offer you an endless stream of activities to keep the kids from uttering “I’m bored” every five...

The holiday chaos has ended – take a breather! Do you like to regroup between Christmas and New Year’s, enjoying the festiveness of your holiday décor now that the rush is over? Or, do you like to start the New Year with a clean slate, getting your decorations packed...

The Rescue Mission is proud to be Green! (This blog was revised on April 21, 2015) When we receive donations from our generous community members, it enables us to give clothing away to those in need as well as provide second-hand clothing, used household linens, furniture and other items at...

Are you overrun with your shirt collection, or the kids’ outgrown shirts? In my case, it was leftovers from making T-shirt quilts. Generally, I only use the image part of the T-shirt in a quilt so there is a lot left, and I hated to throw it away. I’ve...

If you are a gardener, you will recognize this item immediately. If not, let me tell you about it. This is a seed starting tray. There are three parts: the base, the individual cells and the lid. In early spring, they might be a little costly at some stores,...

As our shoppers have probably noticed, we reuse other stores’ plastic bags when completing an order. It helps us cut down on capital costs and ultimately provides more funds for Rescue Mission services. How do we get those bags? From customers like you who collect the bags then graciously...

Calling all high school students! Are you looking for a way to raise money for your class? Do you need to conduct a service project? Maybe you just want to give back to your community. If so, we want to team up with you to conduct a clothing drive!...

Many of you, like my family, have probably collected souvenir shirts from concerts, vacations, featuring a favorite character, icon or other sentiment close to your heart. At one time I decided to do a count and I actually had 104 T-shirts in my dresser. I was shocked to say...

Instead of making those resolutions that none of us can seem to keep, I have decided to make a resolution to clean out my closet and donate all the clothes that have been collecting dust for too long! And I encourage you to do the same! Donate all those...

People decide to make positive changes in their life every day. However, New Year’s Day is by far the most popular day to initiate those changes. That’s right – we are talking about the New Year’s resolution. Our Thrifty Shopper team has long been committed to a “Green” philosophy....

I often come across mass produced art that looks like oil on canvas stretched over a wooden frame and wonder what else one could do with them. My daughter is redoing her living room with a beach theme, so I challenged myself to create something that would be special...

Looking to organize your bedroom? Do you not even bother with your jewelry because it’s a tangled mess? Or, are you looking for a great holiday gift for a female friend? Look no further than the local thrift store. As many thrift stores have home goods and decoration items...

Today I want to talk about sheets. They go on the bed, right? Well, yes, sometimes. But there is so much more you can do with them. With a clear or solid color plastic liner, you can use one for a shower curtain. Just add button holes across the...

You’re folding laundry, almost to the bottom of the basket, and you discover a lone sock – did the washing machine eat the other sock? Where did it go? Needless to say, unless you are inclined to wear mismatched socks (my daughter actually prefers this style), you now have...

Keep your unwanted textiles out of landfills while helping those within your community! In commemoration of America Recycles Day, OCRRA and Destiny USA will host a textile drop-off event from 8 a.m. to noon this Saturday in the Destiny USA parking area off Solar Street and all items (clothing,...